In light of what's happened with the Penn State scandal, it's gotten me to think about why there's so much turmoil over the whole situation in the first place. Penn State students have rioted on campus, rocks have been thrown at both Paterno's and Sandusky's homes, and everyone seems to have an opinion about what's happened. ESPN continues to loop this story over and over again, and offer multiple interviews and explanations of how the whole case should play out. The only thing I'm grateful for is the fact that I don't have a television in my apartment...
Plain and simple, Jerry Sandusky committed a horrible and heinous crime for a ridiculously long period of time. If it had been another human being outside of the sports world we wouldn't spend another minute contemplating the "injustice" or details of the matter. Sandusky should and will go to prison for his actions, period. It would be easy for the general public to move forward if it wasn't attached with such a strong presence in college football - Joe Paterno. His "involvement" has caused a gamut of reactions from all walks of life.
From the articles, interviews, and tweets that I've come across I noticed a few common threads. There is an impression that sports are seemingly "higher than the law." The way the graduate student reported the incident to Paterno and how Paterno told the Penn State athletic director that whole chain of command is completely twisted. I would like to think the average human being would have gone straight to the police, and prevent any further heinous crimes from Sandusky being committed. This environment essentially allowed Sandusky's behavior to continue for way too long. Spors are NOT higher than the law.
Another thing that I noticed is how through social media every single person seemed to offer their opinion freely about what's happening with the Penn State scandal. A lot of the things that I've read, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, is really lacking evidentiary support. People need to get their facts straight! Social media has enabled people around the world to connect and share information at light speed, but it's also imperative that people get the whole story before forming a stance on issues like this, or any issue at all.
The morality of it all just frightens me in the end. Students are rioting because Paterno got fired, does that mean they are condoning his actions of keeping Sandusky's actions a secret for all these years? That doesn't make any sense. I would like to think that at the end of the day people are good natured and would do the right thing. The right thing in this case is to back away and let the law take care of everything. I would hope that Sandusky is treated like any other pedophile and is sent to jail. Paterno's involvement is ancillary, I would like to see him get the opportunity to share his side of the story. Until then the media can imply, assume, and speculate but the truth will come out sooner or later...
As for social media and the world of sport management, it offers both positive and negative implications. It can be a great source of disseminating information to the general public, but one slip up the whole world can perceive your entity negatively. I would like to think it could hold firms, organizations, players, and teams accountable - especially if they are in the limelight. However only time will tell what the impact of social media will really have on the sport management industry.
- Jennifer Chow (KIN 577)
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